Lessons in Cooking and Love
by Penguin
Summary: Akihiko wants an opportunity to talk to Miyagi and invites him to dinner "with partner". Pairings: Romantica and Terrorist.


**Disclaimer: **These characters definitely do not belong to me; I'm only borrowing them from Shungiku Nakamura for my own amusement (and hopefully that of others). I'm not making any money out of this and no copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** This fic was written for the Junjou Fest on LJ ( .com/junjou_fest/. The prompter (kamshaticum) wanted this scenario: "Somehow the Terrorist couple meets the Romantica couple and Misaki proceeds to give Shinobu cooking lessons, while Miyagi and Usami gossip about Kamijou. The word prompts were "cabbage, apron, mai sweet hanni!" and there was also a special request for uke bonding and seme bonding. :)

LESSONS IN COOKING AND LOVE

The rain is pouring down, tapping on the window and making Hiroki's office so dark he needs to switch on the desk lamp. Akihiko watches him rummage in the bookcase and pull out a leather-bound volume.

"Ah, here it is."

"Great, thanks."

As Akihiko takes the book from Hiroki's hand there's a noise from the door. It sounds like someone trying to open it with his foot while carrying something heavy. A tall man dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and dull necktie enters the room backwards, precariously balancing a stack of books in his arms. On top of the stack is a sheaf of notes that he holds in place with his chin as he gingerly turns around to let the door fall shut behind him. When he sees Hiroki he lights up in an exaggerated way and utters something in horrible English that (with some kindness from the listener) can be interpreted as "oh, my sweet honey!".

Hiroki blushes scarlet and fumes; Akihiko suppresses a snort. It's not until the tall man has placed the books and notes on his desk without mishap that he notices the third person in the room. He hastily straightens his back and even has the good grace to colour a little.

By now Hiroki has collected himself and says with cool politeness: "Professor Miyagi, you have met Usami Akihiko before."

Akihiko bows and Miyagi does the same, looking relieved that he can find something to say to divert attention from the awkward moment: "Ah, yes, Usami-san! Nice to meet you again. I'm halfway through your latest book – it's a great read. Forgive the cliché but it's almost impossible to put down."

Praise from readers always makes Akihiko strangely embarrassed, and from a reader like this distinguished literature professor it's even worse. Hiroki knows this and smirks.

"Thank you," Akihiko replies a little stiffly. To get out of the situation he asks: "What do you think of the scene with the flowers? I wanted to remove it but my editor liked it. I'm still not sure. I think it's too reminiscent of the mountain scene in _Echoes_."

Miyagi looks pleased to be asked and enthusiastically begins an analysis of the scene in relation to the plotline ("but please remember I haven't finished the book yet!"). Behind Miyagi's back, Hiroki rolls his eyes.

"He's dating a _kid_," Hiroki says when Miyagi has left for his next lecture.

"So am I," Akihiko almost replies but thinks better of it and makes a small, noncommittal noise.

"A boy who could easily be his student. Miyagi complains that the kid doesn't know how to cook and how he's constantly being exposed to cruel culinary experiments, like eating cabbage for weeks on end."

Akihiko laughs. _I should introduce him to Misaki_, he thinks. _Misaki could give him cooking lessons._

xxx

When Akihiko runs into Miyagi in a second-hand bookstore a couple of weeks later, the thought comes back to him. He likes Miyagi and would like a better opportunity to talk to him than just five minutes between other, more pressing things. When they say goodbye Akihiko finds himself inviting Miyagi "and partner" to dinner the following Saturday. Miyagi looks surprised and a little wary but accepts. Akihiko wonders whether he'll actually bring his boyfriend or opt for a more socially acceptable "partner".

xxx

"Professor Miyagi!?" Misaki shrieks. "You want me to cook for _Professor Miyagi_? Usagi-san, have you gone _completely_ mad? I'll be so nervous I'll _die_!"

"You're a very good cook," Akihiko calmly replies, "and apparently Miyagi's partner can't cook at all. A boy your age, or so I'm told."

Misaki's eyes positively bulge at this. "A...? Miyagi's _gay_? And who told you this?"

"Oh, please, Misaki. It's not like you of all people should be shocked by a gay relationship! My friend Hiroki told me – he works with Miyagi. But it's irrelevant really. Miyagi seems like an interesting person I'd like to talk to, and I thought it would be more fun for you to have him bring his partner."

Misaki digests this information for a minute and adds, a little calmer: "Well, at least it isn't Kamijou the Devil."

It's obvious that even dinner with Miyagi is preferable to that scenario.

Akihiko chokes on his coffee. "The Devil? Why do you call him that?"

"He gives you really tough tasks," Misaki mutters, "and yells and throws things."

Akihiko grins at the image of Hiroki in the classroom, pelting his students with books and bits of chalk if they don't pay proper attention.

"I'll tell him next time I see him," he says.

Misaki nearly drops the mug he's holding. "You _know_ him?"

"Poor Misaki, you're having a rough day, aren't you? Kamijou Hiroki is my oldest friend."

Misaki hides his face in his hands with a whimper and Akihiko laughs and pulls him close, kissing the top of his head, mumbling soothingly into his hair. Within minutes Misaki is flushed and pliable, parting his lips under Akihiko's kisses, and Akihiko has never been one to miss an opportunity.

xxx

Miyagi arrives punctually with his young boyfriend in tow. Usagi looks pleased and Misaki can tell that this is noted on the plus side for Miyagi. Usagi said earlier he was willing to bet Miyagi would come accompanied by a woman.

The boyfriend glares and is a little stand-offish.

_Rich, spoiled and obnoxious_, is Misaki's verdict after five minutes' acquaintance. Then he hides a smile at how well that description fits certain other people in the room.

A little later he amends his first impression. Shinobu, who has asked to be called by his given name, is obviously trying to cover a range of emotions and insecurities by glowering. He seems nervous at openly acknowledging his relationship with Miyagi and awed at having dinner with a famous novelist. When Usagi-san touches the small of Misaki's back and lets his hand linger to demonstrate the fact that the two of them are partners, too, Shinobu relaxes visibly. Misaki warms to him.

"Can I help you with anything?" Shinobu offers when he realises Misaki will be cooking, and even if Misaki doesn't need any help he accepts – it's obvious that Shinobu wants to escape the company of the two older men until he's adjusted to the situation. Misaki feels a little sorry for him.

"I like cooking," Shinobu says, "but I never get it right. Perhaps I have no talent." This seems to make him unhappy.

"Start with simple things," Misaki replies. "It's better to cook simple things that turn out well than aiming too high and ending up with disaster."

Shinobu laughs a little ruefully. "I try out simple things and they still end in disaster."

More similarities with Usagi. Misaki opens the fridge door to hide his smile, takes out ingredients and some small dishes he's already prepared, explaining what he's planned for dinner.

"I don't know anything about wine," he adds, "so Usag-, er, Usami-san is taking care of that. Want a beer?"

Shinobu does. Miyagi and Usagi are already deep in conversation over tumblers of single-malt whisky.

"Do you really want to help?"

"Yes, I said so."

Misaki hands him a knife and some vegetables to chop, watching his technique. That, at any rate, is excellent. So it's the chemistry of cooking that's the problem.

"Basic cookbooks," he advises gently, "are not to be despised. Cooking is like anything else – when you know the basics you build from there, and that's when you can start improvising and experimenting."

"What kind of basics?"

Really, this guy is weird. "Things like preparation of meat and vegetables, cooking times, proportions, adding things in the right order... stuff like that. It doesn't sound very sexy but once you know it, it really helps. Oh, and balance of course. That comes later but it's important. You want balance."

Does he even need to say this? It all sounds embarrassingly obvious. But apparently not to Shinobu, because he's glaring again.

"What do you mean?" he says.

"Flavours need to be balanced," Misaki explains, "as well as textures, colours, temperature... If you serve a salty dish you need something cool and clean to go with it and perhaps something sweet after, just like you'd want a silky texture to be accompanied by something crunchy. If you cook prawns or salmon you want some fresh, crisp greens to go with it, and you can't serve a pink dessert after, because the presentation needs balance too. You eat with your eyes as well as your mouth."

Misaki is slightly surprised at himself for putting these ideas forward so clearly. He hasn't thought very much about the theory behind cooking, and the concept of balance is so natural to him that he uses it intuitively. He can't remember if he perhaps did think about it when he learned to cook years ago, but it's possible that what he now regards as intuition is the result of practice, experience and many, many mistakes.

Shinobu is listening carefully, like he's attending an important lecture at university.

"So if I cook cabbage…" he begins, but Misaki interrupts.

"Why would you? Cabbage is one of the most uninteresting vegetables in existence! Totally overrated. It's always either hard or limp and not very appetizing."

Usagi's smooth, deep voice in the background draws Misaki's attention to him and to something else that's either hard or limp, but definitely more appealing than cabbage. The memory of what Usagi did to him in bed this morning opens like a vivid flower in Misaki's mind. He blinks and blushes, hoping that if Shinobu notices he'll put it down to the effects of alcohol.

He doesn't seem to notice, however; he's too absorbed by the food discussion. "Pumpkin…?" he tries.

Misaki pushes the thought of Usagi's body parts firmly out of his head. "Yeah, pumpkin's fine, but only when it's the right season for it and not too often even then. Pumpkin's one of those things you get tired of really quickly. Variety is as important as balance."

Shinobu looks like this is a new thought to him.

Misaki hands him an apron and ties another one around his own waist. "Okay, let's get serious."

xxx

Over on the couch, Akihiko leans forward to light Miyagi's third cigarette. He's amused to be talking to someone who smokes as much as he does, whose legs can compete in length with his own and who perhaps knows even more about literature than Hiroki.

After an initial, rather formal discussion about Kawabata (who Akihiko doesn't like except for _The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa_) and Oe (who he does like), the alcohol begins to take effect and the conversation gets more relaxed and personal, eventually turning to Hiroki.

Akihiko refills their glasses despite the fact that two whiskies before dinner will numb their taste buds and diminish the experience of the excellent wine he's picked to go with Misaki's delicious food, and decides to offer some personal history.

"I've known him since I came to Japan from England when I was ten," he says. "I don't know how I'd have survived my teens without Hiroki… Hiroki and Misaki's older brother."

He nods towards Misaki who is arranging something on a plate, and doesn't add that said brother caused him agony for years. Miyagi's eyes wander over to the boys and his expression changes, softening when he looks at Shinobu.

"Hiroki always reads everything I write and I rely heavily on his opinion," Akihiko continues. "He has a good ear, if you can use that phrase – he always spots anything that's off key, as it were. Anything that doesn't ring true. And knowing me so well, he never hesitates to tell me."

Miyagi laughs. "Now that I can imagine! But it must be wonderful to have someone like that to bounce things off."

"Hiroki has always believed in me absolutely," Akihiko says, "from the very first time I showed him one of my stories. I wouldn't be where I am without him. There's no question that I owe him. He still reads everything before anyone else does."

Miyagi stubs out his cigarette. "A position envied by many, no doubt. Including me."

Akihiko smiles. "You wouldn't say that if you knew how demanding I can be."

"I expect Kamijou can handle that," Miyagi grins. "He's not exactly loved by his students, you know – 'feared' I think would be closer to the truth."

They sit in companionable silence for a while, a silence broken by laughter and clatter of pans from the kitchen area. Something smells delicious.

"I used to worry about Kamijou," Miyagi says thoughtfully with an openness encouraged by whisky. "He was so unhappy for a while, but he never talked about it. Just clenched his teeth and worked. You know him – he believes he has the perfect armour that hides everything and no one will notice a thing. It's quite touching, really."

Akihiko has always suspected that he once played a part in Hiroki's misery. It used to make him unhappy but there was very little he could do about it, and Miyagi is probably talking about something else anyway, something that happened later. And he's right; Hiroki does believe himself to be unreadable, believes that his grumpiness and snappishness can hide his real emotions. _Poor Hiroki_. Akihiko smiles a little sadly. What he feels for Hiroki is nothing like his old passion for Takahiro or the overwhelming desire and tenderness towards Misaki, but Hiroki will always hold a very special place in his heart.

"But I think he's very happy now," Miyagi continues and downs the last of his drink, "with that handsome boyfriend of his."

Both of them turn to look at the boys by the kitchen counter, and then their eyes meet.

"Sometimes I wonder if I ought to feel guilty," Akihiko slowly confesses, "but as long as there's love…" He leaves the sentence unfinished.

"I wonder all the time," is Miyagi's reply.

Aware that they're stepping on dangerous ground, the whisky threatening to make them maudlin or open up more than they're quite ready to, Akihiko turns and calls to the boys: "What's taking you so long?"

xxx

"Cooking can't be hurried," Misaki explains to Shinobu after telling Usagi to cool it and stop bothering them. "Food's never good if you rush it."

"At least you have someone who appreciates what you do," Shinobu mutters.

Misaki gives him a quick look. He's not ready for confidences. "I'm sure Professor Miyagi appreciates you," he says, a little uncomfortably. "Maybe he just doesn't like cabbage."

Shinobu glances up and then actually laughs. It's funny how much nicer he looks when he does. "Perhaps you're right. It's just… you know, sometimes I annoy him just to get _through_ to him. To make him _react_ to me."

Misaki coughs. "Uhm. Yes." He can totally relate to that. Usagi definitely reacts to Misaki, that's not the problem – the problem is that he's always so irritatingly sure of himself.

They both pause to look at the two older men who are talking about something that makes them smile with a kind of soft sadness. _I wonder if they're talking about us_, Misaki thinks uneasily.

"We need to get the food ready," he says, and knows from the way Shinobu nods that he understands completely.

xxx

To everyone's relief and pleasure, the food is very good.

"I hear you were in Australia," Usagi says to Shinobu over the perfectly cooked salmon.

Shinobu's face lights up and they begin to talk animatedly about the country, the other two listening in silence. Usagi says something in English that Shinobu grins at and answers in the same language.

Misaki looks down at his hands and feels ignorant and small. What does he have to offer Usagi, after all? He's not good with books, he's never been anywhere and doesn't speak any other language than Japanese. In fact, there's nothing about him to interest Usagi at all.

It's weird how he needs other people around to realise how much he needs and wants Usagi. When they're alone he calls Usagi a stupid rabbit and is sometimes genuinely annoyed, but if someone else catches Usagi's interest or claims his attention Misaki gets fiercely possessive, jealous to the point where he scares himself. And at the same time he feels crushed and insignificant like an insect on a windscreen.

At the end of the meal Miyagi compliments Misaki on his cooking, adding that he hopes Shinobu has picked up some good tips. Shinobu blushes angrily and Misaki feels vindicated. After dinner, when Usagi looks at him through a cloud of cigarette smoke and gives him a small, secret smile, his stomach flops. Oh, that mouth… He tries not to think about what it can do to him and probably will, later – he can't spend the rest of the evening with a hard-on.

When the guests have left and Misaki is stacking dishes in the sink, Usagi sneaks up behind him and catches him around the waist, sliding cool hands under his shirt and kissing the back of his neck. Misaki yelps and gasps, instantly turned on – he's been waiting for this ever since that little smile across the table.

"Mmmm, that was a very good dinner," Usagi mumbles. "A good dessert, too, but I'm in the mood for a second one."

"Meaning… me?" Misaki pants as the cool fingers find his nipples.

"I admire your intuition." Usagi's smile sends shivers of pleasure down his back.

Much later, when they're in each other's arms on the bed, relaxed and damp with sweat, Misaki traces Usagi's hip with a finger and whispers with painful honesty:

"Usagi-san... I don't know anything about literature. I'm not very interesting. So why… why do you want to be with me?

There's a silence as Usagi processes the unexpected question. Then his hands come into Misaki's hair, sliding down the nape of his neck and down his back to pull him into a tight embrace.

"Because," he says above Misaki's head, "no one's ever needed me before."

It's not exactly what Misaki wanted to hear but it hits him like something physical. He never thought he'd feel sorry for the great Usami Akihiko, but for a moment the image of a young, lonely Usagi in that enormous house makes him weak with empathy, and he presses his face into Usagi's warm, hard chest.

"And because," Usagi whispers and Misaki can hear his heart beat, "I need you too. No one _sees_ me like you do."

_I'm not crying_, Misaki thinks, _I'm really not._

Suddenly he wants Usagi again, urgently, clutching at him and thrusting his hips forward, and judging by the signs Usagi is not averse to the idea.


End file.
